Has anyone booked a cruise online through any of these sites, and what have your experiences been? I'm planning to book on the Explorer or Navigator for Feb, and would like to see about a last-minute deal.

Thank you for any information.

It is ironic that you posted the questioin so close to 9/11. Ask any cruiser that was affected by the events only one year ago and they will tell you to book your cruise with a travel professional every time.

The three companies you mentioned are all handled by NLG so while you think they are competitive with one another you might be talking to the same res agent at each company.

Find a good cruise professional and then stick with them if you want the best service and values.

Just my opinion.

Tom

Thanks for your opinion. I seem to hear the pitch for travel agents a lot these days. If they could come down closer to the prices offered online, I would use one. I might still use an agent if I hear a bunch of horror stories about the online providers.

I realize that you're paying for the agent's diligence in getting everything coordinated and getting you a good deal when/if prices drop, etc. But I'm willing to educate myself and try booking online in order to get a better value... that is why I asked for opinions about these resellers.

I'm sure there's someone out there who has used one of these services... anyone? Good experience, bad experience, indifferent? I do plan to purchase travel insurance too.

Just remember, you get what you pay for.
Karen

Sounds like you had a bad experience with a travel agent. I've been on 8 cruises, and have 2 more planned within the next few months, ALL with travel agents. They get the best deals possible, and have saved us literally thousands of dollars along the way. OK to book airlines online, but cetainly not cruises. Cheaper is not better, and agree with Karen, you get what you pay for.

quote:

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Originally posted by Sue:
Sounds like you had a bad experience with a travel agent. I've been on 8 cruises, and have 2 more planned within the next few months, ALL with travel agents. They get the best deals possible, and have saved us literally thousands of dollars along the way. OK to book airlines online, but cetainly not cruises. Cheaper is not better, and agree with Karen, you get what you pay for.

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I have not had any really bad experiences with travel agents, in fact I've never booked through one, but have visited several for information as of late. Those I have visited have quoted me barely lower than brochure prices for Feb. sailings. I thought the travel agents were able to get some better prices. Perhaps I have not found the right agent!

If I book now through an agent for Feb., should I expect rates to go down between now and then? How much calling to check for lower rates should I expect from my agent?

Again, thanks for all your advice, I appreciate it. I know I must sound like the cheapest person in the world, but I just want to explore my options.

Re: lower rates and where they're available. Right now there are not a whole lot of "special" rates for Feb as that is in the cruise high season. Lots of heavy discounting going on for sailings in Oct/Nov/Dec of this year. You mentioned earlier you were looking for a last-minute deal - for Feb. that would mean looking (and booking) in Dec. or Jan. No guarantees last-minute deals will be available - it all depends on how well that particular cruise is selling.
Ask around for recommendations on travel agents, look in your yellow pages and other local sources for agents who specialize in cruising, etc. (Their ads would mention it, perhaps the agency name will include the word "cruises" in it, and they might be members of CLIA.) You should ask any agent you talk to, to keep checking for lower rates after you book (do this before you book!) - most will keep checking, especially if they know you are really interested. Not all cruise lines will let you change to a lower rate once you have booked a cruise, especially not after you have made final payment (which is due 60 days prior to sailing, generally.) Some do, some don't. If you book online, you can bet that website isn't going to keep checking for you to see if rates have gone down!!
Also, be sure that you are comparing apples and oranges - if rates seem lower on the websites, it is possible they are not quoting you the entire up-front cost. Does the fare quote include all taxes, port charges, transfers to/from the airport, service fees, etc.?
Karen

I must say that I will never again book a cruise online. First time I tried it, I thought I had a great deal (such a bargain), then after I did all the searching and entered all the information, including my credit card information, it gives me a revised total and charges my card.

The online booking price did not include port charges and taxes, so bottom line I spent about 4 hours to get my cruise at $8.00 less than what a travel agent offered it to me at.

Then when I got my tickets, I had no idea of what I was looking at or looking for. I found out at the pier that there were some forms missing from my package, a travel agent would have reviewed my tickets before I saw them.

For the few dollars I saved, I will gladly pay an agent to do this for me in the future. Time is money.

I have always went thru a local travel agent. They have never done much for me. I was usually the one that came up with the "good deal". The travel agent would always ask me where did I find such a good price? For my next cruise I searched the internet and found Sedona Travel. E-Mail Sedonatravel@bmol.com or 1-877-282-7979. This is the first time I have received an upgrade, a good price and a room credit. My wife and I travel 4 times per year. We go every three months to help break up the stress of working. We do not always go on a cruise. We may go to an all inclusive or just off on a tour. It really helps to make the year go by. For all the business we give to the travel agents they have never got us a good deal or treated us like good customers. They know we travel a lot but never gave us the kind of sevice I expected. Donald Lloyd did not know us from Adam but he knows the cruise business. Granted he is a travel agent but we did find his company thru the web.

Thought I was getting a bargin booking with an On-Line Agency. Found out I was charged 2 times for travel insurance. On-Line Agency: You must get refund from the cruise line, they made the mistake. Cruise Line: You must contact the On-Line agency, they made the mistake. I ended up paying more than if I had gone through a local agent. Credit Card Compeny: Both are valid charges by you and you must pay.

Happy Cruising,
MSEm
CONQUEST Feb 2003
Amsterdam Dec 2001
Westerdam Mar 1999

I had a client that decided to do her cruise on line at a significantly redused rate. She was departing from Atlanta and the cruise originated in New York. When her documents came, her air was written from Chicago to New York. The air tickets were useless and at that late date, the cost or new airline tickets far exceeded the savings she had gotten on the cruise. Of course, she turned to me for assistance, but since I had nothing to do with the transaction, I could do nothing to help her other than write new air tickets. Unfortunately, when you have a problem with an internet booking, there is rarely anyone to turn to for help. I guess the lesson here is that you get what you pay for!

I had a client who decided to book his cruise honeymoon on line. He wanted to stay in Orlando two nights after the cruise. Unfortunately, he booked the nights pre-cruise not post-cruise.

When I spoke with him about the cruise I had priced for him, I asked to see the quote. He had no idea he had booked his package to begin BEFORE his wedding.

I got the booking straightened out and he had a great time.

A common mistake in booking on-line is not really understanding all the different options available. I had another fellow that booked the least expensive room for his honeymoon, not knowing it had upper/lower bunk beds. Again, I asked to see his quote and caught the error for him.

Knowing what you want and what you are going to get are two different things. Buyer beware. Let an experienced agent handle all the details.

i used travelocity for my last cruise because they had a much lower price than my TA i used before. However, i thought that they would be looking out for my best interest but they were not.
they were offering a $150 on board credit if i booked by a sepecific date so i did. however after 9/11 all of the cruise lines dropped their prices due to cancellations. Travelocity didnt automatically drop my price until i threatened to cancel my cruise and go somewhere else. when i got on board i never eceived my 150 credit. so when i got home i called and was given the run around and eventually gave up on the 150.

so i guess i would say that while you can get a food price from some of the onlilne sites you have to watch them to be sure they dont just forget about you once you make the booking.

You have gotten some pretty good advice so far. A good cruise agent will normally save you money and time, especailly if you are new to cruising.

The big sites don't have expereinced Cruise consultants, just order takers. As many people mentioned, when you have a problem, it is nice to have a real person that understands what you are looking for on your vacation to handle things.

If you want to verify you have a good rate, as your sailing gets closer...you might want to go to www.vacationandcruiseclub.com and register. You will get there weekly cruise specials from thier weekly two hour radio show in Miami. Some of these specials relect the lowering of prices, as the cruise gets closer. Not always as good a cabin, but same size and often on on the same deck.

If you would like the name of a good agent that is connected to the Vacation and Cruise Club, let me know.

its usually always better to go with a ta because they are there to answer whatever questions you have and do all the research for you. but it your confident enough then trying booking it directly with the cruise line see once you give your booking to a ta you have no control over it anymore you can only relay on what the ta is telling you which could be a good or a bad thing. i know with rcl and celebrity if prices go down nomatter if you've already made deposit or final payment you can have the rates lowered. say you do book directly through the cruise line you get your booking all set up and you find a ta who can give you a lower rate you can have your booking transfered to the travel agent as long as you haven't made final payment but then again its out of your hands after that.

It may be out of your hands, but remember, without a travel agent, you are left on your own if things go wrong!
Karen

If you let your travel agent get you prices you will probably pay way too much -- what I do is the research on line, then I can tell the travel agent where and what cruises and prices are available and they will match the pricing and I have gone through someone local who can fight for me if anything goes wrong. We have found two cruises this way and it worked out great.

Don't be confused by lower prices. I have heard many horror stories from people with on line booking. We are doing a European cruise with friends next July. He, out of curiosity, contacted online sites, "bulk TA's", a couple of regular TA's. The best price he got was $60 less than what we're paying, and that was for 1 grade stateroom lower than we have, and also didn't include taxes and port charges. 9-10 contacts of various locations were checked. We'll stick with our TA, as we know the service we get. Whatever appears too good to be true, more likely than not, is.

Cruise pricing has become like the stock market. When there is strong dmand for a date/itinerary the price goes up towards the sailing date. When there is less demand, the price goes down.

The advantage the on-line cruise sites have is that once a person books their cruise they lock in a price for their cabin. Once done, if they start looking on the web (or elsewhere) they may find a lessor price as they cruise line may have started discounting. This gives folks the impression that they paid too much in the first place which is untrue. The price of the cruise has simply come down.

A professional cruise agent understandes this process and is usually able to gain satisfaction from the cruise line on the client's behalf by either negotiating an upgrade or getting the price reduced.

On the other hand the on line sources do not offer this service. Once you book, that is it.

To

[This message was edited by Tom Ogg on November 22, 2002 at 08:09 AM.]